


The Emancipation of Blaine Anderson

by Lady Divine (fhartz91)



Series: Outside Edge [20]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Ice Skating, Jealous Sebastian, M/M, Mention Of Homophobia, Mention of Child Abuse, Seblaine friendship, Teenagers, mention of bruises, mention of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 16:44:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11422017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fhartz91/pseuds/Lady%20Divine
Summary: When Blaine stops by the Ice-plex to say goodbye to Kurt and tell him that he's leaving Ohio, he's intercepted by Sebastian, who discovers a secret that Blaine's been hiding ... and offers to help.





	The Emancipation of Blaine Anderson

“Hey, _Blainers_ ,” Sebastian says with a slight groan when he spots Blaine sitting on the curb outside the Ice-plex. _Waiting for Kurt_ , Sebastian knows. Just like he does every afternoon. _Well, too bad, Blainey. He’s not here._ Sebastian smiles triumphantly that _he_ knows that, and Blaine apparently doesn’t. “How’s it hanging?”

Blaine doesn’t lift his head when Sebastian approaches, just offers him a halfhearted wave. “Hey, Sebastian,” he replies with none of his usual vile cheerfulness and the addition of a lisp shadowing every _s_ in Sebastian’s name. “I’m just … I’m waiting around for free skate to start.”

Why Blaine feels the need to tell him that, Sebastian has no idea. Sebastian knows why the boy is here. Blaine runs like clockwork. There’s no mystery to the kid … usually.

A lot of what Sebastian is seeing now when he looks at Blaine can be deemed _unusual_.

“Well, you could wait _inside_ ,” Sebastian offers, because if Kurt ever found out that he left his BFF Blaine sitting outside on the filthy curb in his absence, there would be some angry re-scheduling of make-outs.

“Uh … no. No, that’s alright. Here’s fine.”

Sebastian raises an eyebrow, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s not going to pry. If the guy wants to wait outside on the cold, hard ground, let him. Sebastian isn’t going to drag him inside if he doesn’t want to go.

“Suit yourself.” Sebastian’s about to leave when Blaine sniffles, turning his head to wipe something off his cheek. With a tilt of his head, Sebastian sees what Blaine’s hiding, why he’s keeping his head low, what that lisp’s all about.

His right eye is swollen and black, forcing his eyelid shut, and a cut on the right side of his upper lip is crusted with dry blood. Both bruises together make the right side of his face look twice as big as his left.

Sebastian whistles low.

“Nice shiner,” he says, broaching the subject carefully. “But aren’t you going a bit overboard with the tough guy look? I mean, most people would stop at the leather jacket.”

Blaine chuckles. It’s genuine, but sad. “You’re probably right. I should tone it down a bit. Uh … wh-where’s Kurt? I needed … I wanted to say something to him.”

“He had to take his mom to a doctor’s appointment, but he should be back soon.” Sebastian narrows his eyelids at the sound of finality in Blaine’s voice. “Why? What’s up?”

“I just …” He sniffles again, his shoulders shaking a tiny bit “… I stopped by to say goodbye.”

There’s a cruel and sarcastic part of Sebastian’s brain, bred from habit and a touch of jealousy, that wants to cheer over that, but he can’t. Because Kurt was right. Blaine _has_ grown on him. Sebastian has no problem making fun of the boy to his face when they’re on the same page. It’s become their norm. Jabs and wry comebacks are how they communicate. But Blaine is obviously hurting. And like him or not, Sebastian doesn’t want to see him in pain. “Where you going?”

Blaine shrugs. “To be honest, I don’t know, but I have to get out of Ohio.”

“Why?” Sebastian gives in, blows off his practice session and takes a seat on the curb beside him. “Are you being chased by the mob?”

“Close. My dad.”

Sebastian’s brow pinches as he gets a better look at Blaine’s face. His swollen right eye and cut lip also include a badly bruised cheekbone and what looks like some pretty substantial road rash along his forehead, as if he wasn’t only punched, but thrown into a wall.

“Are you saying … your _father_ did this to you?” Sebastian asks. Blaine has never mentioned his father, either to him or to Kurt, as far as he knows. Sebastian just assumed he was either like Kurt’s dad – very accepting and supportive, or his own father – willing to finance his extracurriculars but rarely ever around. If he’s been abusing Blaine this whole time, Sebastian sure as heck never noticed it. Blaine had no unexplained limps, no weird bruises. Of course, Blaine is a skater, and like most skaters, he has the odd bump and a handful of impressive black-and-blues. As with Kurt and himself, Blaine wrote them off the same way. _“I didn’t land an axel. I underestimated my distance to the wall. I’ve been attempting a quad – key word: attempting.”_ And he never made any outlandish excuses for the nastier looking ones.

Maybe that’s the point. He didn’t have to. He could always trace them back to skating.

So how would Sebastian or Kurt have known the difference?

“Yeah,” Blaine admits, eyes darting left and right with embarrassment. “My dad he … he figured out something today. Something about me. And he kind of … lost it.”

Sebastian has no clue what Blaine could possibly mean. As far as Sebastian is concerned, there’s no trick to Blaine Anderson. He’s practically an open book. What the heck did his father not know till today that could set him off like that?

When it occurs to Sebastian, he feels ashamed by how surprised he is. He shouldn’t be. It’s something that Sebastian lives with, too, but it’s practically a non-issue in his house. Though he does have to admit that, aside from absentee parents, he lives a pretty blessed life.

But it’s also a sheltered one.

Kurt would understand, because Kurt has suffered for it.

“He didn’t know you’re gay?”

Blaine raises a finger. “Correction. He didn’t know that I’m _still_ gay.”

A light switches on in Sebastian’s head. Now that he knows the root of the issue, he knows exactly what Blaine means by that. “The leather jacket, the torn jeans, the military boots, that old-school Mustang you drive - it’s all a front, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Blaine half-sniffles/half-laughs. “It kinda is. Not that I minded. I mean, it’s not entirely my style, but it’s still cool. And it was working, too.”

“How did he find out?”

Blaine looks at Sebastian, the anxiety on his face and the constant shifting of his one open eye making him seem incredibly guilty. “I’d … rather not say.”

“Dude! I wanna _help_ you!”

“I know, but … I’m really not looking forward to getting _two_ black eyes in one day.”

“I promise, whatever it is …” Sebastian rolls his eyes skyward, racking his brain for the worst things he can think of “… you were whacking off to old episodes of _Mork and Mindy_ , you were dancing alone in your mother’s wedding dress, you were watching RuPaul and waxing your eyebrows - I’m not gonna judge.”

Blaine stares at his boots, knocking his heels together, beating a rhythm with the muted thud they make. His laces are untied, as per usual, but the outside of the left boot appears scuffed - more proof in Sebastian’s mind that Blaine’s father _did_ throw him against a wall. He probably has a sizable goose egg hiding underneath his lightly-gelled curls. Sebastian got an injury like that on the ice last hockey season - shoulder check right into the boards. He hit his head so hard he actually heard bells. Just thinking about it makes his ears ring. “He, uh … he overheard me talking on the phone to a friend of mine …” Blaine stops and swallows hard, his lips pulling tight like he’s trying not to ralph “… about Kurt.” Blaine peeks up. Sebastian’s jaw clenches. “Nothing gross or … or explicit,” he adds quickly. “I _swear_. I just … I said how talented he is, how sweet and kind, and how lucky you are to have him.”

Blaine tries to leave it at that, but Sebastian stares Blaine down, fairly certain that that’s not all. He doesn’t doubt that’s enough for a homophobic father to blow his top, but Sebastian suspects that wasn’t what made Mr. Anderson go agro. Blaine gulps hard, looking, for all intents and purposes, like he wants to disappear into the cracks in the pavement, but he gives in. He has no fight left in him, so he decides to put all his cards on the table. What could Sebastian do that was worse than what his father had already done?

“I said how, if he were anyone else, I might make a move, but I respect the two of you too much to do anything. But that I’ll be waiting in the wings, you know, if you ever … screw … up.” Sebastian huffs, his venomous glare becoming downright acidic, and Blaine deflates like he’s just lost his last friend in the world. “I---I meant it as a joke.”

“Sure you did.”

Blaine’s back bows, and from what Sebastian can see of his face, he’s on the verge of tears. Sebastian sighs. He didn’t particularly appreciate those comments, but he doesn’t want to be the cause of any more of Blaine’s stress. Sebastian can’t fault the guy. He’s being honest. He didn’t want to say anything to begin with; Sebastian kind of pressured him. Kurt _is_ an amazing guy, and Sebastian counts himself lucky every day when he doesn’t just up and leave him for Blaine. Sometimes, Sebastian doesn’t see why Kurt doesn’t. And Blaine has never been anything but a gentleman to him and Kurt. If his father hadn’t been an asshole, Sebastian may never have known what Blaine said to his friend about Kurt.

Besides, nothing he said gave anyone the right to punch him.

Sebastian takes a breath and cools his jets. “Then what happened?”

“He dragged me out of my room and he yelled at me. He called me worthless, ungrateful … a liar. I tried to explain, but he said he didn’t want to hear it, that I could disgrace myself if I wanted to, but that he wasn’t going to support it, or _me_ , anymore.” Blaine runs a shaky hand beneath his eye to dry a tear, hissing when he forgets about the bruise. “He---he threw me out of the house - punched me in the face and tossed me straight down the sidewalk. He took away my phone, the keys to my car. He cut off access to my trust fund, my bank account. All I have is the money in my pockets, and that’s not much. I don’t … I don’t even have my skates.”

“Dude …”

“I actually don’t think he can keep me away from my trust fund legally,” Blaine says, offhandedly thinking out loud. “My grandparents set it up for me. But I need to find someone who knows about these things to help me out. Google only got me so far.”

Sebastian balls his fists, livid on Blaine’s behalf. What the fuck? How can any parent do this to their own kid? Sebastian doesn’t doubt it. He’s seen parents berate their kids over something as senseless as a fumbled pass, but it still astounds him every time. “Okay, man” - He stands off the curb and motions for Blaine to follow - “you’re coming home with me.”

Blaine’s head snaps up, his good eye going wide with his swollen one trying its best to follow along. “Wh---what?”

“You’re coming home with me. You’re going to stay at my house while you figure this out. And I’m going to help you.”

Blaine looks at Sebastian in awe, stuck between saying, “Okay,” and just doing what he says, and shaking his head _no_. “Sebastian …”

“Look,” Sebastian cuts in, sensing an objection, “I have a _huge_ house, a pool, a private rink. I know I have some clothes that will fit you … you know, if we roll up the cuffs and stuff. I even have a spare pair of skates you can use for the time being.”

“Sebastian …”

“Sponsorship shit,” he barrels on, trying to find something that will make Blaine shut up and get off that stupid curb. “Never even wore them. Plus …” And Sebastian grits his teeth when he says this “… you’ll have nearly 24-hour access to my boyfriend. He’s there all the time. He even spends the night,” he adds with teeth clenched.

Blaine wants to laugh at Sebastian’s agony over this offer, but he’s in too much shock. It’s like whiplash, how he’s gone from having the man who’s supposedly loved him for the past seventeen plus years kicking him out of his house and completely cutting him out of his life to this boy who barely tolerates him offering him a place to stay, access to a private rink, even a new pair of skates.

And using Kurt as a selling point, after what Blaine just said, after the history Blaine knows is there – that’s got to be _killing_ him.

That’s the biggest reason why Blaine can’t accept. It’s _too_ generous an offer.

“That’s … really nice of you, Sebastian. Really. But I can’t.”

“Why not?” Sebastian groans. _God! The stubborn ass! It’s just like arguing with Kurt!_

 _No_ , he amends quickly. _No. No, it’s not. Nothing like it. They’re nothing alike!_

“I can’t impose,” Blaine insists. “I’ll manage.”

“With what, Blaine?” Sebastian asks, subconsciously raising his voice. “What resources do you have, huh? You said you have no money! Who are you going to get to help you out? Lawyers are expensive, and they’re not in the habit of doing shit pro bono unless you’re _really_ hard up. I know, because my uncle’s a lawyer!” Sebastian’s lecture grinds to a halt. He smacks his forehead with his palm, feeling like a tremendous moron. The solution to Blaine’s problem, and it never even occurred to him. “ _He_ can help you! He can get your trust fund back!”

Blaine thinks up another objection, but he lets it evaporate back to the well of self-destructive behavior from whence it came. Why not let Sebastian help him? Who else besides Kurt _will_ , and Kurt would more than likely go to Sebastian anyway. Kurt’s dad is a mechanic. His mom was a skater. Kurt’s family would give Blaine the clothes off their backs, but they’re not qualified to help him with this. Blaine needs a lawyer. And if Sebastian’s uncle is a lawyer …

But he won’t take handouts. Once he gets his trust fund, he’ll pay them back.

“That would be pretty awesome.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian agrees. “So, you’d be an idiot to keep arguing with me. Come on.” He reaches down and grabs Blaine’s arm, pulling him to his feet before the thought enters his mind that it might be sprained.

“Don’t you have a class or coaching or something?” Blaine asks, brushing gravel off the seat of his jeans.

“Nah. I came here to get some practice in while I waited for Kurt, but we were just going to catch some lunch and then skate,” he expands, leading Blaine over to his car. “But we can do that at my place. You know, cuz I have that rink and all. Maybe you can … like … join us or something.” Sebastian opens the passenger door for Blaine, directing him with a jerk of his chin to hop in. Blaine starts to sit, but stops to look at the boy with the hard green eyes, mildly glaring at him.

“Why are you doing this for me?”

Sebastian sighs exaggeratedly, dropping his head back and staring at the clouds above as if he’d rather be doing _anything_ right now other than having this conversation. “Because despite my better judgment, my boyfriend happens to like you … a _lot_. And, maybe, you know, I kind of … like you, too? I don’t know. Get in the car.”

“Well, will you let me know when you figure it out?” Blaine stalls, enjoying putting Sebastian in the hot seat.

Sebastian shrugs. “Probably not. Come on. Time’s a-wasting.”

***

_Ding-dong._

_…_

_Ding-dong._

_…_

_Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong …_

“Coming, coming. Hold your horses,” Sebastian yells as he races for the door, a hundred-and-ten percent sure he knows who’s assaulting the doorbell. He opens it, greeting his frantic boyfriend with a warm smile and arms open wide. “Hey, babe! How’s it …?”

“Where is he? Is he okay? What’s going on?” Kurt fires off his questions the second he walks in, brushing past his boyfriend with a barely there kiss on the lips. He looks through an adjacent doorway and scans the rec room, then peeks up the stairs in the direction of Sebastian’s room in search of Blaine.

“Hello, Sebastian. How are you doing? My mother’s fine by the way. Oh, and I missed you,” Sebastian mumbles as he locks the door and follows Kurt, heading down the hallway towards the kitchen.

“Don’t joke, Sebastian!” Kurt snaps. “I saw the pictures you texted to me! His eye!” Kurt gasps, turning and staring at Sebastian with such heartache, he feels his own heart wrench. “It looked _awful_!”

“Meh. He’s a tough kid. And he wears it well.” Sebastian decides not to tease Kurt further when his boyfriend calls off his search and curls into his embrace. “He says it looks worse than it feels,” he adds, knowing that, because of Kurt’s own experience with being bullied, he’s probably way more sympathetic than Sebastian could ever be, even with all of his offers of help.

“I can’t believe his father _hit_ him,” Kurt says, his voice unsteady.

“Yeah. I mean, I complain about my folks a ton, but I don’t think they’d ever hit me. I can’t imagine what that must have been like.”

Kurt shakes his head, clearing away the images that have been scrolling through his brain since he heard. “What’s he going to do now?”

“He had a big long talk with my uncle, and told him everything that happened. My uncle had him make a list of all his assets, everything that belongs to him inside his parent’s house, and all of his accounts. Then, my uncle called his dad, and they’ve been talking all afternoon.” Sebastian sighs, knowing Kurt’s not going to feel any better after he hears what he’s about to say. “He’s gotten Blaine’s dad to agree to release his stuff.”

“So … they’re not going to let him move back in with them?”

“They offered, especially after my uncle mentioned pressing charges. Blaine’s dad said they’d be willing to put this behind them, forget it ever happened” - Sebastian huffs - “as if any of this were Blaine’s fault, right? Like he had an equal part in it.”

“What did Blaine say about it?”

“Blaine wanted to jump at it, but my uncle told Blaine it’s in his best interest to refuse. My uncle’s going to get him out of that house, and then they’re going to contact the police.”

Kurt shakes his head like he doesn’t understand. Sebastian doesn’t either, to be honest. It seems so surreal, especially considering this is _Blaine_ they’re talking about.

“Has Blaine’s dad …?” Kurt continues to shake his head, not sure whether he wants to know the answer to the question he’s about to ask. “Has he been abusing him all this time?”

“According to Blaine, no,” Sebastian says, and a relieved Kurt melts in his arms. “He’s a strict man, he likes to argue, but he’s never raised a finger against Blaine his entire life. This was the first time.” Sebastian squeezes Kurt tight. “My uncle is going to make sure it’s the last.”

“Good, but … where’s he going to go? He isn’t going to leave, is he? You said something about him leaving!”

“He’ll be 18 soon,” Sebastian says, rubbing soothing circles over Kurt’s back. “After he gets his trust fund back, he’ll be able to afford his own place, but that’s once it matures. There’s a few months gap before then, so my uncle and I invited him to stay here.”

“Are you … are you _serious_?” Kurt whispers.

“Yeah, well, we have more than enough room. My parents won’t object.” Sebastian snickers. “Why would they? They probably won’t know he’s here.”

Kurt takes a step back, his eyes widening in surprise.

“Sebastian, that’s … that’s so wonderful of you guys! Thank you!” Kurt throws his arms around Sebastian’s neck and hugs him. “Thank you _so_ much!”

“You’re welcome.” Sebastian quells the urge to tell Kurt that he did this for him, because that wouldn’t be entirely true. Not this time around.

Kurt loosens his grip on Sebastian’s neck, leaning to look into his boyfriend’s face. “You said they’ve been talking all afternoon.”

“In my uncle’s office, yeah.”

“How much longer do you think they’re going to be?”

“I don’t know. Probably another hour or so.” Sebastian raises a quizzical brow. “Why?”

Kurt smiles – it’s cute, it’s coy, it’s a little suggestive. “Because I’m thinking … that might be just enough time for me to thank you for this … properly.”

Sebastian looks at his boyfriend biting his lower lip and gazing at him through lowered lashes. Kurt doesn’t have to lead Sebastian by the nose for him to assume what he’s thinking. But from what they’ve discussed so far, Kurt isn’t ready. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t _have_ to,” Kurt says, rolling his eyes. “But … I _want_ to.”

“Okay …” Sebastian is curious what’s going through his boyfriend’s mind. He’s dying to make love to Kurt, but he’s not sure this is the right time … or the right reason. But he doesn’t want to reject him in a way that’s going to embarrass him. “Well, define _properly_. I mean, what are my parameters here? What am I allowed to ask for?”

“A-anything,” Kurt says, a little nervous that, in his excitement, he may be offering more than he’s ready to give. But if that’s what Sebastian wants, he’ll give it, because Sebastian deserves it after this. “Anything you want.”

“You promise?”

“Y-yeah. I promise.”

“Then, would you go with me down to my rink and skate with me?” Sebastian asks, taking Kurt’s right hand in his. “Because if there’s something I don’t get enough of, it’s dancing on the ice with my handsome boyfriend.”

Kurt smiles, grateful, but maybe with a hint of disappointment. Not enough for him to suggest a different reward, but it’s still there. “It would be my pleasure.”


End file.
